Location

On Camano Island, 14 miles southwest of Stanwood in Island County.

Acreage

134.35 acres and 6,700 feet of saltwater frontage on Saratoga Passage and Elger Bay.

Acquired

Camano Island was acquired in two parcels; the first in 1958 and the second in 1971, for a total cost of $510,000.

Historical Background

Through the efforts of the South Camano Grange #930, a tract of 93 acres was made available from the Department of Natural Resources for use as a park in 1949. Initial development was accomplished through a community effort of nearly 900 volunteers who developed "a park in a day".

The earliest inhabitants of Camano Island were Indians of the Kikialos and Snohomish tribes. They lived here in temporary dwellings during the summer. Their name for the island was "Kal-lut-chin", or "land jutting into a bay". Shell mounds indicate that "Point Lowell", which is within the park, was a site for tribal gatherings and ceremonies.

Camano Island received its name from Spanish explorers who, in 1791, named the general area Boca de Caamano after a young Spanish officer, Jacinto Caamano.

Facilities

113 picnic sites, 1 picnic shelter, kitchen, bathhouse, 301 parking sites, interpretive nature trail, 1 boat (3 lanes) launching ramp, 4 comfort stations, 3 pit toilets, 87 standard campsites, 28 camp visitor parking sites, trailer dumping station, 1 group camping area with capacity for 200, 1 marine trail group camp site, registration building, 2 residences, 3 shop buildings, 2 pressure tank building, gasoline house, 3 pumphouses, 2 1,000-gallon reservoirs, one 10,000-gallon reservoir, 3 wells, 6.2 miles road, and 4.5 miles hiking trails (½ mile is a Nature Trail).

Activities

Picnicking, hiking, boating, fishing, clamming, nature study, scuba diving, bird watching, rock collecting, and camping.

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